The Liberal Party (, PL) or Liberal Movement (, ML) was a Chilean

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, eco ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

that existed between 1983 and 1987, with an opposition stance to the military dictatorship led by

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

. Its origins date back to late 1983, when a group of former members of the old

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Youth decided to form the Liberal Movement, supporter of individual freedoms and the restoration of democracy by peaceful means. Among its members were Hernán Errazuriz Talavera, who would be ambassador to the United Kingdom during the government of

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party of Chile, Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chil ...

, medical director Arturo Brandt, Gastón Ureta, Gonzalo Gazmuri, Guillermo Toro and Claudio Cerda. Eventually, it started taking a decidedly oppositional character to Pinochet's regime, which led them to join the Democratic Alliance in October 1984. Subsequently signed the National Agreement and constituted the ephemeral ''Democratic Federation'' () in 1985 with the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

and the Republican Party. It made its first convention in October 1986. The alignment of the liberals with the opposition led some critics party members decided to secede from the main Liberal Party. These factions, separated between 1985 and 1987, form the Reformist Liberal Party (''Partido Liberal Reformista''), the Unionist Liberal Party (''Partido Liberal Gremialista'') —both subsequently joined the National Party— and the Authentic Liberal Party (''Partido Liberal Auténtico''), which later evolve into the

Liberal Democrat Party of Chile The Liberal Democrat Party of Chile (, PLD) was a Chilean political party that had legal existence from 1988 until 1989 under the state of "in formation". Its symbol was a circle on top of which had outstanding printed in gold letters "''Partido ...

. In December 1987, the Liberal Party decided to merge with the Republican Party to make way for the Liberal-Republican Union.

References

{{Authority control Liberal parties in Chile Political parties established in 1983 Political parties disestablished in 1987 Defunct political parties in Chile 1983 establishments in Chile 1987 disestablishments in Chile